Paloma Swift
Paloma Swift is a mariner and officer in service to the Admiralty of Kul Tiras. She is the commanding officer of the'' Steadfast'', a vessel of the Kul Tiras Merchant Marine. Description Paloma is a young woman of athletic build and diminutive height. She has tan olive-toned skin, hazel eyes, and a round face framed by short reddish-brown hair. Her right cheek sports two beauty marks: one beside her nose, the other below her eye. More often than not, one will find Paloma clad in the green-and-brown uniform of an Admiralty sailor and mariner, her rank of 2nd Lieutenant denoted by the insignia on her collar. On the (very) rare occasion she's permitted time for leisure, she prefers simple gowns or modest mage robes. Her hands, however, reflect the wear and tear of life aboard a ship, and are often bandaged. No more nail polish for Swift; only calluses. Personality Cheery, optimistic Paloma is a spirited individual with a single-minded drive to do her best in every endeavor, no matter the difficulty. She is gregarious, friendly, and dependable; there is very little she will not do for a comrade or friend. She possesses a thorough education from one of the many Kirin Tor mage academies. Paloma does not boast her intelligence nor her skill; she prefers to chalk up achievement to hard work and the support of those who encouraged her. History Early Life Paloma Regina Swift was born in Dalaran during the spring of Year 12. She was the only child of Mabon Swift and Ana-Louise Tuttle, two prominent mages and field researchers for the Kirin Tor Leyline XVII Research Association. As Swift and Tuttle had an extensive history studying the leylines of Azeroth, Paloma spent parts of her early childhood traveling from site to site with her parents. They soon decided their work carried too much risk of peril for a child, and Paloma was left in the care of family friends in Dalaran. They enrolled her in one of the mage academies in hopes she would show aptitude in the Arcane arts, following in her parents' footsteps. The Coldarra Expedition Tragedy struck not long after Paloma's sixteenth birthday. Her parents embarked on a research trip to Coldarra, intending to study a ley-pattern near the unstable Nexus, but their field team was ambushed by a group of mage hunters that had recently betrayed the Tor for favor of the Blue Dragonflight. The attack left no survivors. Devastated, Paloma mourned the loss of her parents for many years. Enlistment Struggling to move on from the tragedy, Paloma Swift drifted through life, aimless. She squandered important opportunities for advancement; instead of excelling at her studies, she floundered. Soon she was ineligible to progress any higher through academic ranks. Faced with the potential of washing out, Swift took a position as an auditing clerk for the College of Divination, thus accepting a life of magical mediocrity. This was seen as disappointment -- nigh failure -- to the colleagues of the Leyline XVII Research Association, who lamented her lack of ambition. The loss of Swift's parents seemed to be a blow from which she would never recover. Change, however, was on the horizon. In the first month of Year 38, Swift was approached by a mage recruiting for the Kul Tiras Marine Corps: Chief Petty Officer Osmund Cinderholt. The elder mage implored young Swift to take charge of her physical health and commit to a more active lifestyle. Though hesitant, Swift decided (for once) to try something new, and agreed to enlist in the Kul Tiran Navy. Nobody could have predicted the sudden, nigh-galvanizing change in Paloma Swift. Within weeks, she was trooping with the corps as one of their most committed recruits. She rose through the enlisted ranks, progressing from cadet to Chief Petty Officer. Encouraged by her superior officers, she set a personal course of achievement to one day serve as a naval officer. Through combat and training, she proved herself diligent, even dependable. Nothing would stand in the way of her new dream. The listless gloom that had pervaded her life had lifted, and Swift no longer drifted, finally anchored. The Merchant Marine With the Legion defeated, conflict stirred across Azeroth. In the summer, CPO Swift and several of her fellow marines received transfer orders recalling them from the Fifth Fleet and reassigning them to the Admiralty's sealift operations and the Department of Mariner Vessels. Under the supervision of staff manager Kieran O. Whelan, she assembled a crew of capable mariners to reinvigorate the Boralus office of the Kul Tiras Merchant Marine. Swift was granted a formal commission and given command of the fourth-rate vessel ''Steadfast, ''a refitted warship from the Third War. After the Siege of Boralus Political upheaval across Kul Tiras (mostly the result of internal conflicts and the Alliance's arrival at the behest of Jaina Proudmoore) resulted in numerous challenges to the Merchant Marine's operation. After a number of sorties involving the treacherous Ashvane Trading Company, Swift took leave from the Merchant Marine to pursue further officer training at the Proudmoore Academy. By virtue of her service to the nation of Kul Tiras during the Ashvane conflict, she was granted the rank of Captain. Currently, Captain Swift lives in Boralus proper as she attends the Academy, and is said to be pursuing advancements in her personal life as well as her career. Miscellanea * Paloma prefers the color blue. * She speaks middling Thalassian and understands enough Dwarven to get around Ironforge. * She has a phobia of spiders. * Swift does not own any pets, but is said to greatly love dogs. * Despite possessing a solid understanding of magical combat, her favorite weapon is her standard-issue Kul Tiran Navy flintlock pistol. * Her favorite flowers are forget-me-nots. Category:Kul Tiras Marine Corps Category:Kul Tiras Navy Category:Sailors Category:Characters Category:Human Category:Tirasian